By Okoi Obono-Obla
According to reports from the State House in Abuja, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu received the leadership of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), led by its President, Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso, during a courtesy visit.
The Bishops had raised concerns about the alleged intimidation of opposition parties by INEC and the government ahead of the 2027 elections.
In response, the President was quoted as saying:
“All is fair in politics, and everyone has equal opportunities. INEC is neutral and has never intimidated anyone. If political opponents are crying wolf, maybe they are afraid of their own shadows and the company they keep — not me.”
Other outlets reported the same line as “all is fair in politics” and that he said, “The opportunities are equal. INEC is neutral. They have never intimidated anyone.”
In that context, what he meant was different from “all is fair in war”:
1. Denial of the allegation: He was insisting that INEC has not been used to intimidate anyone.
2. Definition of politics: He was framing politics as fair competition where every party has equal opportunity to organize, mobilize, and persuade voters within the law, not as a war where anything goes.
3. Response to the opposition: He suggested that the claims of intimidation were the opposition crying wolf out of uncertainty, not because of government action.
So while the phrase “all is fair” usually sounds like “anything goes,” in this State House report he used it to argue the opposite — that the field is open to all and no one is being targeted.
Conclusion: The President’s statement was not an endorsement of Machiavelli’s doctrine that the end justifies the means, where a leader may use devious or cunning methods to achieve his goals. Rather, it was a defence of INEC’s neutrality and an assurance that the political space remains open and fair to all contestants.
